No similar lock to the one disclosed in the present invention has ever been suggested, designed, constructed or made available to the market before.
As far as the technology of the construction of locks for sliding doors and the like is concerned, various external lock mechanisms are known that operate with a safety hook or other means.
Nevertheless, one characteristic drawback of the external lock systems of the prior art is the fact that they comprise a frame mounted element that is externally screwed on the door frame, since the standardized typical door frame profiles within which the door panels can slide, do not offer facilitation as far as the installation in the gap intermediately between them and the sliding door of the frame element under consideration is concerned. This fact together with the dimensions of the external lock itself result in failing to place such an external lock in between sliding doors with two panels (shutter and glass panel) since the space between the internal glass panel and the external panel of the shutter does not allow a sufficient gap for mounting the necessary frame mounted element. It must be noted at the same time that the locking/unlocking mechanism employed on the one hand and the form of the frame mounted element at the external locks of the prior art on the other hand, as well as the way in which the frame mounted element is fixed onto the door frame and the fact that this element is essentially a linear plate, often render the abovementioned external locks of the prior art of reduced strength and reliability.
It is therefore the main object of the present invention to effectively overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies of the prior art and to provide an external lock for sliding doors and the like, wherein the dimensions of the lock and of the frame mounted cooperating element are such that it can work with the frame element mounted even within the clearance allowed at typical profiles in between sliding doors with two panels (glass panel and shutter), the proposed external lock and cooperating frame mounted element offering the maximum security and reliability as far as its operation is concerned.
The main object of the invention under consideration is realized by a frame mounted element, which has a small thickness with respect to its surface, which allows it to be inserted and fixed at the interior of the door frame, eg. for aluminum profile series 150 and 700, and is on the one hand bent to form a plate fixed by screwing onto the door frame and on the other hand it comprises a tubular housing suitable for receiving the sliding bolt members provided at the external lock of the invention, which is mounted onto the sliding door.
These and other objects, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become obvious at the detailed description that follows.